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Wild Mushroom Walk with Jess Starwood
March 10 @ 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
$65
PLEASE NOTE: As of March 1, this event is sold out. Please register for the waiting list as there often are cancellations in the days before events. I always try to fill those spaces and issue a refund to those who had to cancel even if it’s after my stated cancellation deadline below.
Please be sure to use the REGISTER link below or at the bottom of the page before clicking on the PayPal button to complete payment and secure your space. Note: Online payment includes a PayPal fee of $2.76. If you prefer, when you register you can request instructions for mailing a payment of $65/person.
If the event sells out, PayPal will not accept your payment. You will see a message that says this event “is not available at this time” and you will be returned to this page. If that happens, be sure to click on the REGISTER button below to sign up for the waiting list. If spaces become available they will be filled based on date and time of waiting list signup.
Cancellation policy: I will refund your payment if you notify me up to 72 hours (3 days) before the start of the event. After that I will make every effort to fill your space (and I’m usually successful) but cannot guarantee it.
REGISTER
As you walk the meadows, mountains, and valleys of Southern California, do you find yourself wishing you knew more about the elusive mushrooms you encounter? Turn your wishing into learning on Sunday, March 10, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. when Herb Walks with Lanny Kaufer hosts a Wild Mushroom Walk in Ojai with acclaimed forager/chef Jess Starwood, author of Mushroom Wanderland: A Forager’s Guide to Finding, Identifying, and Using More Than 25 Wild Fungi!. We’ll visit a diverse Ojai habitat that is home to several species of fungi and numerous edible and medicinal plants. Of course, we can’t guarantee which mushrooms we’ll find as that is unpredictable, dependent on rainfall, weather, and other factors. Not to worry, though. Jess will bring dried samples from her pantry to fill in the gaps.
We’ll meet at 9 a.m. at the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s Ojai Meadows Preserve where Jess and I will walk with you through a variety of plant communities for plant ID and mushroom foraging. Jess and I will be available before and after the walk to sign our respective books. I will have my complete mobile bookshop with me. All participants will receive a detailed email afterwards with a complete plant and fungi identification list including their common and scientific names.
No dogs or smoking, please.
MY WEATHER POLICY: Walks and hikes will go on RAIN OR SHINE unless there is a steady downpour on the morning of the event, probability of thunderstorm, or a solid forecast of either the day before. Light rain or drizzle will not result in cancellation on my part. I will update registrants by email and text, as needed, and issue refunds if I need to cancel because of the weather.
Please note: This will be Jess’s only Ojai event during mushroom season this year as she is taking time off from teaching to complete a Doctorate of Science in Integrative Health. All three of her past mushroom walks and workshops in Ojai sold out so don’t delay if you want to be able to participate in this very special event.
ABOUT JESS STARWOOD:
Jess Starwood is a forager, plant-based chef, and herbalist. She is the author and photographer of Mushroom Wanderland: A Forager’s Guide to Finding, Identifying, and Using 25 Wild Fungi! and has led wild food and herbalism classes, workshops, and immersive wild food adventures all across the country and in Mexico. She has a Master of Science degree in Herbal Medicine from the American College of Healthcare Sciences and has worked as a forager and consultant with several Michelin-starred restaurants in Los Angeles.
Jess is the editor of McIlvainea, The Journal of American Mycology and Spore Print, the newsletter of the Los Angeles Mycological Society (lamushrooms.org). She serves on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Mushroom Society (azmushrooms.org)
Jess’s website is at www.jstarwood.com. She can be found on Instagram @jess.starwood. and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jessstarwood.
ABOUT LANNY KAUFER:
Lanny Kaufer has been leading Herb Walks in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties since 1976, educating scores of locals and visitors on the flora of the area with a focus on herbs that can be used for food and medicine. As an herbal educator, Lanny also leads workshops and presentations throughout the Ojai-Ventura-Santa Barbara area on the edible and medicinal uses of California plants. He is the author of Medicinal Herbs of California: A Field Guide to Common Healing Plants, published by Falcon Guides in December 2021.
Lanny earned a biology degree at the University of California where he completed independent studies in naturopathic medicine under physiology professor Dr. Henry Hilgard. Lanny is a faculty member of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at California State University, Channel Islands. He hosted the 3rd Ojai Herbal Symposium in November, 2023, and serves as chief consultant on medicinal plants for the Swimmer Medicinal Garden in Playa Vista. He can be found on Instagram@OjaiHerbal and on Facebook at Facebook.com/HerbWalks.